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| A Chelsea fan narrows his eyes with his fingers against Son Heung-min during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Tottenham held in London, Sunday (local time). Captured from Seo Kyoung-duk's Facebook |
By Lee Yeon-woo
An activist professor has sent a protest email to all 20 football clubs in the English Premier League, calling for strong punishment for racist abuse targeting Tottenham Hotspur striker Son Heung-min.
During a match between Chelsea and Tottenham, Sunday, (local time), a Chelsea fan used his fingers to narrow his eyes while looking at Son in the second half when the striker went to take a corner shot in front of the Chelsea home fans. The scene was spotted by a TV camera and later spread through social media.
"Why does the EPL, a league which has worldwide fans, let racist abuses continue? It is not only an insult to Son, but also every Asian person. Chelsea and the English Premier League should undertake a thorough investigation regarding this issue," Seo Kyoung-duk of Sungshin Women's University wrote on Facebook.
As the image spread across the internet, Chelsea announced, Thursday, that the club had launched an investigation into the alleged racist gesture aimed at Son. The club also has promised to take "strongest action" against the person who made the racist gesture.
"Chelsea FC has consistently made its zero tolerance position on discriminatory behavior very clear, yet there are still idiots like this that attach themselves to this club as so-called 'fans', which shames Chelsea FC, our coaches, players, staff and our true supporters," read a Chelsea statement.
It is not the first time Son faced racist abuse throughout his career at Tottenham.
Last April, Manchester United suspended three season-ticket holders who posted racist abuse online targeting Son. In 2019, a West Ham United fan was fined after making racist remarks to Son during a match.
"So far, EPL's punishment for racist abuse was not severe enough. This time the EPL should make a strong punishment so that this kind of abuse will not happen again in the league," Seo said.
"I will report to global media, especially FIFA, to deal with this continuous racism happening at EPL games," Seo added.
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